double-blind
by fuzzyvonpretty
Summary: Meredith and Andrew converse, eat dessert, and discuss if chocolate can really be better than sex. Some fluff post-15x20.


"So," Andrew says, twirling noodles around his fork, "you haven't told me what you needed that penis for."

He gets exactly the reaction out of Meredith that he'd hoped for – a smirk and a giggle. She rolls her eyes. "Surely you know about the groundbreaking transplant that happened next door to your surgery?"

It's Andrew's turn to smirk. "It's not nearly as fun to put it that way."

Meredith smiles. "It was a favor to Megan Hunt and Jackson. I didn't actually end up doing the surgery. I want Jackson to be able to submit it for awards."

"Oh, and you don't like those anymore?"

Meredith laughs again. "It's polite to share."

These are the moments Andrew thinks about a lot. How comfortable he is with her. He's driven mad by how much he wants her, obviously, but he finds himself missing her laugh and her smile and her jokes at the oddest times.

"So, Megan Hunt." He looks down at his food and he knows he maybe shouldn't have said anything. Megan Hunt is with Meredith's ex-boyfriend. He knew Nathan, and liked him, and knows that the whole thing couldn't have been easy for her. He wants her to know she can talk about it – just like she can talk about Derek. But it's a little harder when the situation was this… tortured? Complex?

"What about her?" Meredith's smile and voice are completely neutral.

"Are things… weird?" Her eyes narrow and he can tell he's going about this the wrong way.

"Why would they be weird? I gave her new abs."

"Because…" Andrew is fumbling for words. "Because she's more than just a former patient and colleague?"

He sees fire in her eyes and he _instantly_ regrets how he went about this.

"Andrew. Megan Hunt and I are friends. She is my best friend's ex-husband's sister. She is, yes, shacked up with my old boyfriend. She is also the reason I have a Harper Avery. Relationships are complex. You, of all people, should know that."

Andrew feels sheepish. He forgets, sometimes, that Meredith has lived so many lives. And part of living that many lives and inhabiting so many others is a degree of comfort with complexity.

"I'm sorry, that was stupid. What I meant to ask was – are you okay? Do you need to talk about anything?"

Meredith's still got fire in her eyes. "Andrew, I have girlfriends and sisters for those kinds of conversations."

The easy way out would be to make a wisecrack, but she deserves more than that.

"I know. I just – I want you to feel comfortable, you know, telling me things."

Meredith's eyes soften. "Andrew. I tell you plenty."

He knows that she does – for her. She tells him a lot and he knows this is a change for her.

"I know, Mere. I just need you to know that I'm… okay with it. Whatever you want to talk about. I'm fine with it."

She smiles again, this time, no fire. "Thank you, Andrew. That's really very sweet."

Andrew lets out the breath he didn't know he was holding. "How is she doing?"

"Megan? She's fine. She asked if I was seeing anyone." Meredith smirks at him and Andrew feels his heart clench.

"And what did you tell her?"

"I told her I was still pining for her boyfriend, destined to be alone forever." The smirk's still there and Andrew is certain she'll be the death of him.

"That's too bad." Andrew finishes his pasta and looks at Meredith's half-full container and steals a forkful.

"Andrew!" This is not the first time he's stolen her food, but he does it mostly because her reaction is always hilarious.

"Tell me what you told her and I'll give you this forkful of very expensive and delicious takeout."

"I told her I took a vow of celibacy."

Andrew puts the whole fork in his mouth and moans for effect. "Mmmmm, delicious. I didn't know you were such a liar, Dr. Grey."

Meredith huffs. "Well, maybe I did take a vow of celibacy. Maybe I took one today."

"That would be such a shame." Andrew feels the tension ramping up and he loves it. "Because the dessert I made is better than sex, and I'm pretty sure that counts."

Meredith laughs and puts her food down on the table, out of reach of his wandering fork and next to his own empty container. She straddles his lap and runs her hands up his chest.

"Better than sex, Dr. DeLuca? Really?" She leans forward and starts brushing kisses on his ear and down his neck and he instantly feels impossibly turned on.

"Well, I haven't done a double-blind study, or anything…" Her lips are on his and the kiss quickly deepens.

They stay like that for some minutes, until Meredith pulls back. Her hair is messy from where his hands have run through it, and her shirt is wrinkled at the bottom from where his hands had pushed it upward. Her lips look bee-stung and it takes all of his willpower not to just stand up and carry her into the bedroom.

"I told her," she tells him, punctuating sentence fragments with kisses, "that I am dating a resident."

Andrew feels a little offended at that. Not "dating a hot young resident," not "dating a promising resident," but "dating a resident?" He _hmmmmmm_s and looks away. Meredith grabs him under the chin and makes him look straight at her.

"I told her I'm dating a wonderful, handsome, excellent resident who cooks and speaks Italian. She was appropriately impressed."

Andrew feels like if he smiles any wider (and dumber), he'll crack his face open. She really said _wonderful_.

"Don't let it go to your head." With that, she stands up and heads over to the fridge. "Where is this dessert you said was better than sex?"

Andrew gets up and follows her into the kitchen, skimming his hands over her hips while she searches through his fridge. "It's there, under the foil." He reaches around her and grabs the glass dish and puts it on the counter, then lifts Meredith up and puts her next to it. He grabs a spoon and dips it into the dish, emerging with a chocolatey confection that his mother called "murder by chocolate."

"Here, try some." He stands between her thighs and lifts the spoon to her mouth, and as the chocolate touches her tongue he hears a low moan of appreciation.

"That is… incredible, Andrew," Meredith half-whispers. She leans in and kisses him.

"Ahhh, but is it better than sex?" He serves her another spoonful, following with another for himself. She moans again, quietly, and pulls him to her.

"What do you say we do that double-blind study right about now?"

Andrew sinks to his knees in front of her. "Sounds great."

It's an hour or so later – the remains of dessert are spread across the counter, little splashes of chocolate everywhere. Meredith's white blouse – several spots of chocolate on it – is hanging off the faucet, and two quickly-abandoned pairs of jeans are in a pile on the floor under the counter.

Andrew is standing under the hot shower, letting the water rush over him. He had let Meredith shower first and borrow some of his clothes, knowing she had to get back home to her kids. He feels achingly lonely without her, even though he knows he'll see her again in the morning. He knows she is giving exactly as much as she can, and he's grateful – but once, just once, he wishes they could spend a whole night together.

He shuts the water off and wraps a towel around himself, wandering into the kitchen for a glass of water. He's assaulted by memories of what just happened here – of Meredith's cries bouncing off the walls, of making love to her on the kitchen floor. He picks up their clothes and puts them over one arm, making a mental note to bring her blouse in with his dry cleaning the next morning.

He dresses quickly, in sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt, and goes about tidying up. He almost regrets doing it – the memories are so potent right now that he doesn't want to erase the evidence – but his inner neat freak has gotten to him and he cleans the kitchen within an inch of sterile.

He's still too wired to sleep, so he flops onto his couch and cracks open the novel he's been half-heartedly reading the past few days while nursing a beer. He finds he's read about twenty pages without remembering any of it when he hears a soft knock at the door.

A quick look at his watch tells him it's almost midnight, and he jumps up to answer the door. He's expecting Carina, but he opens the door to see Meredith, still in his t-shirt and a pair of his sweats that she is absolutely _swimming_ in.

"Hey," he breathes, and he smiles at her. He doesn't know what this could possibly be about, but he's not going to complain.

"Hey," she responds, and pushes past him through the door. He shuts it behind him and goes to flip the lock.

"My kids are asleep, both sisters are home, and as it turns out, it's not a double blind study if you only do it once." Andrew turns from the door to find Meredith naked – again – in the middle of his living room.

"Quite right, Dr. Grey," and he sweeps her off her feet and into his bedroom.

Another hour later, Meredith is falling asleep in his arms and he is, once again, floored by his luck.

She's mumbling as she fades off to sleep and Andrew strains to hear her.

"Double blind isn't just twice, you know – you owe me in the morning. More dessert _and_ more sex."

Andrew laughs and shuts off the light. He knows she'll be up and out of the house in just a few hours, and he won't see her until the hospital – but maybe they'll continue their study in the on-call room, just to make sure.


End file.
